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The thrall lived his life in fury. His life boiled in rage so deep it shook the very foundations of who he was... or who he had thought he was. The bland, apathetic wandering male no longer existed. He had been transformed into an impotent and nameless wretch. It wasn't so much that he'd been forbidden his name. It simply had become a thing of the past, an echo of what had been but was no longer. Glories knew SHE never called him by name. Never anything but "you" or "he". He might have been grateful that she had at least left him his gender, save that this clearly was so that she could torture him more.

A female... domineering a male. How his father would have been horrified. How his mother would have cried. How his pride would have banished him!

It was all no more. And it was all HER fault!

He heard her pawfalls coming. How he hated himself, for he couldn't help cringing into a corner, careful to keep his blind eye away from her, his seeing side angled to watch her ever move. Her attitude lately had been so disdainful, so scornful. Rightfully so. What creature, male or female, could respect a cringing, helpless fool like him?! Still, he spat a warning as she entered. One she ignored, of course. Hadn't she already proven to him who was in control? His empty eyesocket throbbed in answer.

But wait... she was leaving... again... but this time was different. This time he was stronger. This time he could see straight, he could walk straight... he could... escape. He coiled himself against the wall, head defensively down, lips drawn back, but not uttering another sound. She turned and walked out... turned her back on him! She would see... or not.. see... His thoughts tumbled frantically over one another, watching her leave through the red haze of his hate. He would get away. He would get strong. And then he'd come back... for HER!

It was all he could do to wait until she should have already left the outpost... should have already begun trotting out of sight, before he moved from the wall. With stealthy steps he crept to the entrance of their small den area. Tattered ears flickered, catching voices, laughter, song. Song?! What had anyone to sing about?! His life was in ruins, and they celebrated! A soft growl rumbled in his throat, and he turned to sneak away, towards one of the back entrances. Away from the voices, and towards sweet freedom.

He slunk along the passage, then paused in the shadows before it gave out into the open air. He flared his nostrils wide, but all he smelled were lions and those stinking hyenas. He pulled back his whiskers and bared his fangs in a silent hiss. How he hated this place, these people! Abominations, each and every one of them! But most especially HER! His ears pinned back for a moment, but he was forced to tip them forward attentively again. Without scent, he had to use all his other senses. His single eye scanned the darkened landscape as closely as possible, while his ears pivoted warily.

He'd had some trouble adjusting to losing his eye. He'd run into things repeatedly, and was only now just starting to alter his steps consciously to avoid obstacles. For now, he kept the outpost's wall close against his blind side, preventing anyone from sneaking up on him, from behind or to the side. Cautiously, so cautiously, he emerged from the tunnel. One slow pawstep at a time, he crept out beneath the night sky, oblivious to the glittering heavens above him. His whole being was focused on silence, on craftiness, on escape!

He could sense nothing, but that did not make him any less cautious. He took three steps, bringing his whole body out beneath the sky. He kept the wall against his blind side, and raised his paw to take another stealthy step, then paused in mid-motion. He frowned, thoughts swirling. What if... what if she, evil and crafty creature that she was, knew he'd try to escape? He took a slow, painful breath. His heart was pounding fit to leap out of his chest, and only a clenched jaw kept him from lashing his tail. He lowered his paw slowly, then stood stock still for several minutes, forcing himself to think this through.

If he assumed she guessed he'd try to escape... would she have the whole outpost watching for him? Upon steady reflection, he decided that no, she wouldn't. She had a thing about personally humiliating him. She wouldn't want anyone else to catch him. She'd want that pleasure for herself. So. She would be the one and only lion out there, waiting or watching for him.

His whole body vibrated, threatening to break into tremors he couldn't stop. Fear, fury, terror, and hopelessness raged through his soul. Taking several breaths as deeply as he could manage, he tried to quiet his mind and calm himself. There had to be a way out. First... what should he do now?

It didn't take much to realize he was making a mistake already. With very slow motions, he turned in place and re-crossed the entrance. His blind eye now was facing towards the open ground, and his good eye was blocked from easy view. Every muscle in his body was taut with tension. He had to do this, though.. he had to do differently than she would expect. Each step a painfully slow and calculated process, he used his ears as best he could, fighting the urge to crane his neck to try and watch for pursuit.

CRACK!

The noise was louder than monsoon thunder in his ears. He had been so focused on listening, on straining past the pounding of his own heart, he nearly came unglued at the sound. In fact, it startled him into something he never thought previously he'd ever have the instinct to do. He bolted, like a rabbit from its den. With the lowliness and unworthiness having been pounded into him, unbeknownst to him, prey-like instincts had been honed. He was a victim, a preybeast, a hunted thing that would lose its life if caught. As such, his body reacted in the marvelous ways nature intended.

His first burst of speed from a dead stand-still was tremendous. That loudly pumping heart now lent him a good deal of blood to the muscles, allowing him to launch himself into the dark landscape at a furious pace. He didn't dare hold his breath anymore either, so he gulped great lungfuls of air, stretching his body as far and as fast as it would go.

After the first mad headlong rush had run its course, though, he became more aware of his surroundings. He needed to do more than flee... she was certain to be right on his tail! Unfortunately he was, or used to be, bigger than she, and heavier, and all options tended to favor the smaller, lighter prey creatures. He had to come up with something! Frantic, he scanned the surrounding area with his good eye as his speed began to flag. Now what?!

He slowed further, quieting his breathing and trying to hear beyond his thundering heartbeat. He thought it was possible he had managed to flee beyond the patrolled outpost area. Maybe. He couldn't be certain by any means. He kept loping along, though, keeping himself going in the same general direction he'd begun. That would have to change, and soon. At least he didn't hear her heavy paw-tread right behind him! That was something at least.

In fact, it raised in him a slight hope, which only made his heart pound faster again. Mentally chewing himself out for counting his luck before it was secured, he kept scanning the area for signs of a patrol or some means to truly escape. He was by no means free... not yet.

It was that luck that apparently was going for him and led him to his next step towards that freedom. He nearly tripped into a sharp crevice in the land. It wouldn't be hard to get into or climb out of, but it was deep. Deep enough, he surmised quickly, to hide a full grown lion such as himself. Eagerly he plunged down in, only to discover a further stroke of luck. The bottom was not just damp, it was soaked. A small rivulet ran through the middle of the narrow ravine, and the ground on either side of it was heavily muddy.

Mud. Mud that could muddle his scent, perhaps even cover it. But first... he popped his head up over the edge quickly, to ensure that that hated female wasn't there yet. Then he darted upstream for several mintues, then reversed himself and ran back the other way, further than he'd begun, for another few minutes. Returning to his starting point, feeling the terror of the hunted with death looming near, he flung himself into the mud. He coated himself as thoroughly as he dared, then walked for two minutes upstream. At a random point, after the loose mud has sloughed off already, he gingerly climbed out of the ravine. He returned to slinking along slowly, crouching to keep himself low, choosing each step with care.

Let her figure that one out, he snarled silently to himself. Let her spend the rest of her rotten life figuring it out, for all he cared! So long as he never saw her face again, nor smelled her scent, nor heard her name mentioned!